All about Diesel engine oils

This is a discussion on All about Diesel engine oils within Technical Stuff, part of the Under the Hood category; There is total ignorance about correct engine oil for Laura PD diesel engine. The same would apply to the VW ...

Now a lot of relevant discussions have been happening at the synthetic vs mineral thread, but i think diesel engine oils need a thread all to themselves. From what I've gathered from that thread , as well as others is that Mobil delvac MX and Chevron Delo 400 are the better ones. Today I went to pick up delvac MX and the shopkeeper said he had some shell rimula in stock as well. Since it was CH4, and I'd heard about delvac, picked up the Mobil. But is Rimula any good ?

what about the other oils. I know castrol GTD is crap, because that what I've been using so far . Castrol GTX ought to be better.

Delvac 1 is one of the best diesel engine oils you can buy off the shelf. Problem is, you won't see them on shelves too often. Volvo & other premium truck manufacturers (Merc etc.) buy their entire India supply. My cousin is the Maharashtra distributor for Mobil, and I still have a hard time sourcing Delvac 1! I've stocked up on 10 liters for my Jeep, which should easily last a year.

What is a synthetic oil?
A synthetic oil originates from crude oil. However, certain molecules are selected and combined via chemical reactions to form a relatively pure substance of known composition. Synthetic oils, like mineral oils, require the addition of proper additives for optimum performance. They perform the same function as mineral oils and require the same oil drain intervals.